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Authors: Robin L. Rotham
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welcome.”
There was another uncomfortable silence and then Brent tipped his cap. “Well, guess we’ll see you sometime. Or not,” he added, looking at Hake.
Hake stared back at him for a moment and then said, “Same time next year?”
Mandy’s heart skipped a beat and then started racing. Oh boy, oh boy—he wanted them to come back!
Brent blinked. “Thought you’d be back to work by then.”
“I will. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stop in on your way through. You too, Joe,” he added, for once looking the older man directly in the eye. Joe dipped his head in acknowledgment, a small smile playing around the corners of his lips.
“Oh yes,” Mandy said emphatically. “You should both definitely stop by again.”
“Every year?” Brent asked.
“Unless you get a better offer, I guess,” Hake said.
Yes! Mandy nearly screamed with glee. Lord, the anticipation alone would be enough to keep her libido revved up year-round.
Brent glanced at Joe then took off his cap. Walking up to the bed, he planted a gentle kiss on her lips. His fresh outdoor smell made her shiver as he drew away.
“What could be better than this?”
“So you’ll be back?” she prodded breathlessly.
She didn’t realize Hake was also holding his breath in anticipation of Brent’s answer until it came.
“Plan on it.”
60
Carnal Harvest
* * * * *
After the guys left, Hake pulled his wife into his arms and pressed his lips tenderly to hers. Whimpering, Mandy kissed him back, hugging his neck like she never wanted to let him go, and Hake suddenly realized how much he’d missed her. She’d been right here with him all along, but for some incomprehensible reason, he’d shut her out. For months .
That was probably the biggest mistake he’d ever made. He didn’t intend to make it again.
When he came up for air, she smiled, brushing his hair back from his forehead.
“This day was amazing, Hake—absolutely amazing. Thank you.”
“No, you’re amazing,” he said. And he meant it. He’d set this whole thing up for her, and yet somehow he was the one who’d come out of it feeling totally renewed and, for the first time in a long time, like a whole man. And it was all because of her. “None of this would have happened if you weren’t the most sexy, open, giving woman—”
“Don’t forget kinky.”
He laughed. “Yes, you’re kinky, and thank God for it. If you weren’t, I’d probably still be drowning my sorrows in crime TV.” Then he rested his forehead against hers.
“Honest to God, Mandy, I don’t know how I let myself sink so low. It was stupid and just plain selfish.”
“Cut yourself some slack, honey.” She rubbed her nose against his. “Pain can really wear a body down, and you were in a lot of pain for a long time after the surgery.”
“Yeah, but it started a long time before the accident,” he sighed. Mandy didn’t disagree. “And really, I think there toward the end, the pain was more in my head than my leg.”
“You’re probably right. I noticed you were walking better.”
“I noticed that, too. I was the biggest obstacle to my own recovery, I guess. I don’t know what I would have done if—” he waved a hand in the air, “all this hadn’t happened.”
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Robin L. Rotham
“It didn’t just happen , Hake. You made it happen. You took that first step toward fixing what was wrong all on your own.”
“Well, that may be, but it never would have occurred to me that I needed…” He paused, searching for the words, and then smiled wryly when she didn’t jump to fill in the blank. Leave it to Mandy to make him say it. “That I needed to give up control to someone strong enough to take it from me. And without you, I never would have had the courage to let it go.”
He squeezed her shoulder, kissing the top of her tousled head. “So thank you , sweetheart, for giving me the time and the freedom to figure out what I needed instead of kicking my sorry ass out of the
There was another uncomfortable silence and then Brent tipped his cap. “Well, guess we’ll see you sometime. Or not,” he added, looking at Hake.
Hake stared back at him for a moment and then said, “Same time next year?”
Mandy’s heart skipped a beat and then started racing. Oh boy, oh boy—he wanted them to come back!
Brent blinked. “Thought you’d be back to work by then.”
“I will. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stop in on your way through. You too, Joe,” he added, for once looking the older man directly in the eye. Joe dipped his head in acknowledgment, a small smile playing around the corners of his lips.
“Oh yes,” Mandy said emphatically. “You should both definitely stop by again.”
“Every year?” Brent asked.
“Unless you get a better offer, I guess,” Hake said.
Yes! Mandy nearly screamed with glee. Lord, the anticipation alone would be enough to keep her libido revved up year-round.
Brent glanced at Joe then took off his cap. Walking up to the bed, he planted a gentle kiss on her lips. His fresh outdoor smell made her shiver as he drew away.
“What could be better than this?”
“So you’ll be back?” she prodded breathlessly.
She didn’t realize Hake was also holding his breath in anticipation of Brent’s answer until it came.
“Plan on it.”
60
Carnal Harvest
* * * * *
After the guys left, Hake pulled his wife into his arms and pressed his lips tenderly to hers. Whimpering, Mandy kissed him back, hugging his neck like she never wanted to let him go, and Hake suddenly realized how much he’d missed her. She’d been right here with him all along, but for some incomprehensible reason, he’d shut her out. For months .
That was probably the biggest mistake he’d ever made. He didn’t intend to make it again.
When he came up for air, she smiled, brushing his hair back from his forehead.
“This day was amazing, Hake—absolutely amazing. Thank you.”
“No, you’re amazing,” he said. And he meant it. He’d set this whole thing up for her, and yet somehow he was the one who’d come out of it feeling totally renewed and, for the first time in a long time, like a whole man. And it was all because of her. “None of this would have happened if you weren’t the most sexy, open, giving woman—”
“Don’t forget kinky.”
He laughed. “Yes, you’re kinky, and thank God for it. If you weren’t, I’d probably still be drowning my sorrows in crime TV.” Then he rested his forehead against hers.
“Honest to God, Mandy, I don’t know how I let myself sink so low. It was stupid and just plain selfish.”
“Cut yourself some slack, honey.” She rubbed her nose against his. “Pain can really wear a body down, and you were in a lot of pain for a long time after the surgery.”
“Yeah, but it started a long time before the accident,” he sighed. Mandy didn’t disagree. “And really, I think there toward the end, the pain was more in my head than my leg.”
“You’re probably right. I noticed you were walking better.”
“I noticed that, too. I was the biggest obstacle to my own recovery, I guess. I don’t know what I would have done if—” he waved a hand in the air, “all this hadn’t happened.”
61
Robin L. Rotham
“It didn’t just happen , Hake. You made it happen. You took that first step toward fixing what was wrong all on your own.”
“Well, that may be, but it never would have occurred to me that I needed…” He paused, searching for the words, and then smiled wryly when she didn’t jump to fill in the blank. Leave it to Mandy to make him say it. “That I needed to give up control to someone strong enough to take it from me. And without you, I never would have had the courage to let it go.”
He squeezed her shoulder, kissing the top of her tousled head. “So thank you , sweetheart, for giving me the time and the freedom to figure out what I needed instead of kicking my sorry ass out of the
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